Central Texas Wildfire Grows to 4,200 Acres; State of Emergency Declared
Gov. Abbott declares state of emergency for affected area
•
Evacuees in Bastrop County drove to the border of evacuation zones on Thursday hoping their homes were still standing.
Wildfires that have burned more than 4,200 acres in Central Texas and imperiled hundreds of homes threatened to grow Thursday in parched forestland that is still recovering from massive deadly blazes in 2011. [[333045271,R]]
The fire is currently only 15 percent contained and overnight remained stronger than expected, fueled by hot weather and gusty, shifting winds. The Forest Service had estimated 50 percent containment earlier Wednesday, but challenging topography and uncontrolled fire lines slashed the containment.
Officials believe that almost three dozen homes have been lost already, and residents in about 400 homes have been advised to evacuate since the fire began Tuesday.
Crews fighting the wildfire will have new help from the air Friday, as the Texas A&M Forest Service called in a DC-10 jet tanker that can drop close to 12,000 gallons of retardant at a time. Bastrop County officials hope the arrival of a cool front will also help slow the advance of the fire.
During a briefing Thursday, Gov. Greg Abbott announcing he'd declared a state of emergency for all Texas wildfires after taking a tour of the Bastrop County area earlier in the morning. The Hidden Pines Fire is burning in an area east of Bastrop State Park, north of Smithville and Buescher State Park and west of Luecke Farm.
"We grieve for the families and the homeowners who are displaced by this," said Gov. Greg Abbott, who declared a state of disaster for the county and authorized unspecified extra state resources to fight the fire. "This has to be an echo of a nightmare that they faced just a few years ago."
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency Thursday due to both the Bastrop County wildfire and others burning in the state.
A day before, the governor issued a disaster declaration for the area, known for its thick spread of pine and elm trees and a winding, hilly landscape.
Members of the Dallas Fire-Rescue's Wildland Urban Interface Team have been requested to assist with the Hidden Pines Fire and will deploy at noon Thursday for Bastrop. Wednesday night, firefighters from Fort Worth, Arlington and Southlake left for Bastrop County with brush trucks, spare parts and other supplies as part of the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System.
Evacuees in Bastrop County drove to the border of evacuation zones on Thursday hoping their homes were still standing.
Many residents were turned away due to the imminent danger from the Hidden Pines Fire.
Early Wednesday, that fire was believed to have only charred 375 acres, but after an aerial survey was conducted, that estimate quadrupled. The fire is estimated to have burned more than 2,000 acres by late Wednesday night. As of Thursday evening, the Hidden Pines fire was 25-percent contained, officials said.
A Central Texas wildfire near Austin has burned more than 4,200 acres and destroyed at least nine homes while threatening 154 others Thursday, the Texas A&M Forest Service says.
"It looked like they had it taken care of and by 10 a.m. on Wednesday, we could tell they had no chance of stopping it," said evacuee Mike Haley. "We didn't give ourselves much of a chance, so we expected the worse at this point."
Haley and his wife, Jane, returned home. Their ranch sits outside the mandatory evacuation zone.
"I think the hardest part was being out and not knowing," said Jane Haley. "I have scabby knees from praying, but praise God my house is here."
Hundreds of homes remain under evacuation orders in Bastrop County. Most evacuees are staying with friends or family while about a dozen families are at an evacuation shelter in Smithville.
Meanwhile, reports of the smell of smoke in the Metroplex Thursday are being attributed to the massive wildfire.
Forest Service spokeswoman Jessica Jackson said fire retardant dropped from aircraft helped save the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center's Science Park Wednesday.
She had no details on how many people evacuated, as a precaution, after the fire broke out Tuesday. Jackson said firefighters saved at least nine homes but more than 150 remain threatened.
The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department closed Buescher State Park on Wednesday because of the fire. The park will remain closed through Sunday.
Bastrop County, 30 miles east of Austin, has had low humidity and sparse rainfall. Forecasters predict highs in the 90s with gusts of up to 10 mph through Friday.
The fire is a stark reminder of how dangerous these fires can be in this part of the state. In 2011, a wildfire in Bastrop destroyed nearly 1,700 homes and burned 33,000 acres.
NBC 5's Chris Jose and The Associated Press' Paul J. Weber contributed to this report.
AP
Montgomery Fire Firefighter, Reed Griffith crosses the fire south of Todd Mission, Texas in Waller County during a 2011 Wildfire. Click to see more dramatic photos from fire scenes around the state.
AP
Jinnifer Way tries to coral skittish horses in order to take them out of the fire zone at Ponderosa Paints ranch near Bastrop, Texas. Way along with the owner of the ranch helped catch and transport some 23 animals that had taken refuge from the nearby wildfires.
AP
Charles Jones looks off into the distance as a wildfire moves closer to his home on County Road 1662 near Linden, Texas.
AP
Flames shoot up from a rapidly spreading wildfire south of Linden, Texas.
AP
Acres of wildfires smolder in Cass County, Texas on Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011.
AP
Firefighters put out hot spots on a grass fire off Foster School Road near Needville Texas.
AP
Courtney Hughes sits in the family car as they decide where they will be spending night as residents along Kickapoo Road. are under a mandatory evacuation in Waller County, Texas.
AP
Smoke fills the air as a firefighter walks towards homes in Waller County as fire crews continued to battle a large wildfire for the third day in Magnolia, Texas.
AP
Magnolia Mayor Todd Kana surveys the remnants of a home destroyed by wildfire Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011 in the Ranch Crest subdivision of Magnolia, Texas.
AP
A park and playground sustains damage from a wildfire in the Ranch Crest subdivision of Magnolia, Texas.
AP
Angel Wagnon checks her phone for information on nearby wildfires in Todd Mission, Texas.
AP
A barn behind a home is on fire south of Todd Mission, Texas Wednesday.
AP
Donated water for firefighters is seen at the convention center in Bastrop, Texas.
AP
Acres of wildfires still smolder as smoke is visible for miles Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011 near Linden, Texas.
AP
Ken Smeltzer, right, hugs neighbor Heather Lutz, center, outside Steiner Ranch, Texas. More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed in at least 57 wildfires across rain-starved Texas. Click to see more dramatic photos from the fire scenes.
AP
Acres of wildfires still smolder as smoke is visible for miles Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011 near Linden, Texas.
AP
Smoke hangs as the sun rises over Bastrop,Texas, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011. Low winds and better weather are giving firefighters opportunity to get a handle of the wildfires that have devastated central Texas.
AP
This photo provided by Texas Parks and Wildlife shows a fire burning in Bastrop State Park in Bastrop, Texas.
AP
Smoke from a wildfire hangs over a field of cattle, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011, in Bastrop, Texas.
AP
A home-made sign is seen outside the Bastrop Fire Station, Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2011, in Bastrop, Texas.
AP
A wildfire burns in Bastrop State Park.
AP
In this aerial photo, burned out houses and cars are seen near Magnolia, Texas. More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed in at least 57 wildfires across rain-starved Texas, most of them in one devastating blaze near Austin that is still raging out of control.
AP
Tammy Heath spreads dirt on the smoldering ground in an attempt to keep a fire from jumping a fire break in Linden, Texas.
AP
A large wildfire burns near Magnolia, Texas. More than 1,000 homes have been destroyed in at least 57 wildfires across rain-starved Texas.
AP
A wildfire burns in the forest behind homes near Magnolia, Texas.
AP
Wildfire smoke billows behind a home in the Crown Ranch subdivision near Montgomery, Texas.
AP
A volunteer firefighter uses a rake to extinguish flames on the front lines of a massive wildfire near Lilbert, Texas.
AP
Willie Clements surveys his fire-destroyed home in Bastrop, Texas.
AP
Hayden Wilhelm, left, sprays water on hot spots at a neighbors home that burned when wildfires swept through the area near Bastrop, Texas.
AP
Flames from a gas pipe continue to burn at a home that caught fire when wildfires swept through Bastrop, Texas.
AP
Smoke from a wildfire hangs in the sky, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011, in Bastrop, Texas.
AP
A melted lamp post stands next to the remains of a house off of Texas State Highway 21.
AP
A house burns off of Texas State Highway 21. One of the most destructive wildfires in Texas history is plowing across rain-starved grasslands now littered with hundreds of charred homes.
AP
Paul Sandberg stands on the remains of the more than 30-year-old house that he built outside the city of Bastrop, Texas.
AP
A family of volunteers from Austin, Texas, helps organize and sort donated clothing outside of the Ascension Catholic Church in Bastop, Texas. The church has become one of the main relief centers for evacuees displaced by wildfires.
AP
Lisa Trammell carries out dog food and other belongings after a mandatory evacuation was issued in Linden, Texas due to devastating wildfire outbreaks in the area.
Getty Images
A statue of a woman holding a water bucket stands in front of the remnants of a burned down home on the east side of Lake Bastop.
AP
A large wildfire, on Highway 71 near Smithville, Texas, burns piles of lumber and ranch posts. A roaring wildfire raced unchecked through rain-starved farm and ranchland in Texas, destroying nearly 500 homes during a rapid advance fanned in part by howling winds from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee. Click to see more dramatic photos.
AP
Firefighters from around the state battle a large wildfire on Highway 71 near Smithville, Texas, Monday, Sep. 5, 2011. A roaring wildfire raced unchecked Monday through rain-starved farm and ranchland in Texas, destroying nearly 500 homes during a rapid advance fanned in part by howling winds from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.
AP
Firefighters from around the state battle a large wildfire on Highway 71 near Smithville, Texas, Monday, Sep. 5, 2011. A roaring wildfire raced unchecked Monday through rain-starved farm and ranchland in Texas, destroying nearly 500 homes during a rapid advance fanned in part by howling winds from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee.
Getty Images
Volunteer fire fighters work to contain a wildfire on in Graford, Texas. More than 6,500 acres and more than 45 homes in the area have burned.
AP
A large wildfire burns along Highway 71 near Smithville, Texas as a bulldozer from the Texas Forest Service arrives to help fight the roaring wildfire.
AP
Patricia Bloodworth-Neville embraces her daughter Bailey Neville, 12, while watching a wildfire consume land around their home in the Bluebonnet Acres in Texas Bastrop County, Texas.
AP
Patricia Bloodworth-Neville sobs inside the Bluebonnet Volunteer Fire Station in Bastrop County, Texas. A roaring wildfire raced unchecked through rain-starved farm and ranchland in Texas.
AP
A series of large wildfires as seen heading east approaching Bastrop, Texas on Highway 71 Monday.
AP
Gov. Rick Perry holds a news conference to discuss wild fires in central Texas, Monday, Sept. 5, 2011, in Bastrop, Texas.
AP
Texas Gov. Rick Perry, right, examines a map of Bastrop County during a fire briefing by county officials in Bastrop, Texas, Monday.
The Courier, Karl Anderson / AP
Residents were evacuated as a wild fire threatens the area near Sleepy Hollow Road and Post Oak Drive in Conroe, Texas.
AP
Students from a local 4-H group drop off bottled water for firefighers and displaced residents at Magnolia High School where residents evacuated from their homes near a 300-acre wild fire gathered Monday in Magnolia, Texas.
The Courier, Eric Swist / AP
Jack Novak, in red, head pastor with The Grove church, leads a prayer outside Magnolia High School where residents evacuated from their homes near a 300-acre wild fire gathered in Magnolia, Texas. Nearly 8,000 residents were evacuated from their homes. (AP Photo/The Courier, Eric S. Swist)
The Courier, K. Anderson / AP
Residents evacuate their animals as a wild fire threatens the area near Sleepy Hollow Road and Post Oak Drive in Conroe, Texas. (AP Photo/The Courier, Karl Anderson)
Getty Images
A tanker airplane drops fire retardant on a wildfire in Graford, Texas. More than 6,500 acres and more than 45 homes in the area have burned in the area.
AP
A wildfire burns in Bastrop, Texas County, near the Bluebonnet Acres neighborhood.
AP
A helicopter drops water on a wildfire in Bastrop County, Texas.
AP
Firefighters from the Coppell Fire Department, who traveled from the Dallas/ Fort Worth area help contain a brush fire around the property of Mount Pleasant Missionary Baptist Church in Cedar Creek, Texas. The wildfires in central Texas have burned 25,000 acres in Bastrop County alone.
AP
Firefighters from the Coppell Fire Department watch as an S-64 Skycrane helicopter drops a fire retardant to help contain a wildfire burning through parts of Cedar Creek, Texas.
AP
Wild fires continued to burn Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011 near Possum Kingdom Lake, Texas.
